Longines League of Nations Final in Barcelona: The Field, the German Riders, New Format, Schedule

Ten nations began the competition in the League of Nations; eight advanced to the finals after competing in four qualifying rounds across three continents: France, Germany, Great Britain, Brazil, Ireland, Belgium, the U.S., and Italy. Host country Spain rounds out the field, bringing the total to nine teams. The French were the only team to win two stages.

The tournament offers a prize purse of 2,154,300 euros. The course designer is the internationally renowned Santiago Varela Ullastres, who, among other things, designed the courses for the Tokyo Olympics.

Prize Money for the League of Nations

The title sponsor, Longines, is spending 1.6 million euros on the League of Nations finals. The winning team will receive 490,000 euros in prize money. The second- and third-place finishers will receive 302,000 euros and 220,000 euros, respectively (other placings: 146,000 euros, 82,000 euros, 60,000 euros, 40,000 euros, 32,000 euros, and 28,000 euros).

It’s not just riders who receive prize money

. There are also other awards, such as one for the best male or female athlete of the season with the most clear rounds in the course (jump-offs are not counted): The prize for this is 40,000 euros. And the best groom won’t go home empty-handed either: this groom or groomer will receive 15,000 euros. Even the best chef d’équipe gets a 15,000-euro bonus.

German Team

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” Germany finished the qualifiers in second place overall, with a victory in Ocala and a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi. National team coach Otto Becker has three team world champions competing in Barcelona: Marcus Ehning, Sophie Hinners, and Richard Vogel. They will be joined by Jörne Sprehe and series newcomer Kendra Claricia Brinkop. Vogel also tops the world rankings.

And Barcelona? It’s been a good place for Germany. Two years ago, Richard Vogel, Christian Kukuk, Jana Wargers, and André Thieme won the final, ahead of the Netherlands and Sweden. Great Britain will compete as the defending champion. Di Lampard’s team also won the qualifying tournament in Rotterdam this year.

New Format in the Second Round

In the League of Nations final, the competition consists of a jumping event with two identical rounds over 1.60 meters—meaning at least three obstacles must be set at this maximum height. In the second round, the obstacles may be raised.

In the first round, all four riders on the team will compete. In the second round, only three pairs per nation are eligible to compete. The team captain must announce the starting order during the break between rounds.

The penalty points from the top three performances in the first round are added to the penalty points of the three competitors in the second round. If there is a tie in penalty points, the team nominates a pair for the tiebreaker. This may also be the pair that did not compete in the second round.

Schedule for the Longines League of Nations Final

Wednesday, September 30, 2:30 p.m.: Physical examination for the CSI5* horses

Thursday, October 1, 9:00 a.m., two-phase show jumping, second phase with time scoring, 1.40 meters

Friday, October 2, faults/time—no jump-off, 1.50 meters

8:00 p.m. Barcelona Grand Prix, two rounds, 1.60 meters. Total prize money: 308,600 euros; 92,580 for the winning pair.

Sunday, October 4, 12:00 p.m. Longines League of Nations Final, first round

2:45 p.m. second round

Team overview

Belgium

• Niels Bruynseels


• Abdel Saïd


• Emilie Conter


• Pieter Devos


• Roy van Beek

Brazil

• João Victor Castro Aguiar Gomes de Lima


• Stephan de Freitas Barcha


• Pedro Junqueira Muylaert


• Rodrigo Pessoa


• Pedro Veniss

Germany (National Team Coach Otto Becker)

• Marcus Ehning


• Sophie Hinners


• Richard Vogel


• Jörne Sprehe


• Kendra Claricia Brinkop

France

• Julien Epaillard


• Antoine Ermann


• Olivier Perreau


• Nicolas Sers


• Kevin Staut

Great Britain (defending champion, team manager Di Lampard)

• Scott Brash


• Tim Gredley


• Jessica Mendoza


• Jack Whitaker


• Jodie Hall McAteer

Ireland

• Trevor Breen


• Billy Twomey


• Jason Foley


• Denis Lynch


• Cian O’Connor

Italy

• Piergiorgio Bucci


• Emanuele Camilli


• Giampiero Garofalo


• Giacomo Casadei


• Giulia Martinengo Marquet

Spain (Host)

• Julio Arias Cueva


• Carlos Bosch Cebrian


• Luis Jesus Escobar


• Imma Roquet Autonell


• Armando Trapote

United States

• Laura Kraut


• McKayla Langmeier


• McLain Ward


• Kristen Vanderveen

You can find the results here

Event website